Fishing
by Chaotic Lullaby
Summary: A short story featuring young Wendy and Michael Garret...and perhaps two other characters if you squint.


_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Once again, Norkia of LJ gets props for the neat little prompt. Did I mention a pairing will crop up? But you have to be quick to catch it…no, it has nothing to do with either of the Garret siblings, so there. Besides, they're kids in this one! _

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"I'm bored, and I haven't caught a single fish yet. Are you sure there's even fish in here?"

"Sometimes you just have to wait, Wendy. Don't worry, I caught lots of nice fish here some time ago – I showed you, remember? And you have to be quiet too…that's why you have to stay still…"

Wendy Garret sighed, pouting like only a frustrated little girl could and trying not to move a muscle. She stared at the still waters of the small lake, never blinking her big green eyes, hoping for something…anything at all…

Her older brother, Michael, chuckled.

"I thought you said we have to be quiet," she pointed out mulishly, shifting about on the rock they were perched on as little as possible.

"Sorry," he apologized. "But you just looked so funny looking at the lake like that, right, Kameo?" The boy patted the crimson shell of the turtle basking between them. The turtle stuck its neck out and looked around before retreating into its shell again.

"Maybe Kameo can catch fish for us," said Wendy as softly as she could.

Michael smiled, quelling a laugh. "The fish are bigger than he is!"

His sister shrugged, speaking to her stationary line. "He'll get bigger, right? Then he can fish for us."

"That'll take a long time," said Michael. "Okay, let's be quiet now. I think we're not catching anything because the fish can hear us. At least Kameo is quiet."

And with that, both Garrets clammed up, focusing on nothing else except their fishing poles, and from time to time, Kameo, who wasn't going anywhere at all. Thankfully, even though the sun was bright, it was not too hot; the weather was breezy, and their spot was shrouded by trees. Sometimes, one sibling would twitch as though he or she had gotten a nibble, only to slump back again. Wendy took one hand off her pole to cover her mouth as she yawned.

Michael turned to her. "Of course, we could always go back if you really are that tired."

"Can't you try shooting the fish with your gun instead?"

He was about to answer, but he saw something from the corner of his eye that caught his attention, and quickly closed his mouth.

"Brother?"

"Hey – look over there," said Michael, pointing to the other side.

"Why?" She looked – and sure enough, there was someone; actually, two of them. They were tall enough to pass for adults, especially one of them, who sat down on the bank and watched the other wade into the lake; a woman, judging from her stance, the way she hitched up her skirts and let her long hair down. The two siblings could almost see her smiling and hear her laugh as she splashed in the shallows.

The elder Garret remarked, "We barely see others around here…besides us and our parents, and some of our friends sometimes…"

"Who are they, then?" asked Wendy.

Michael could only shrug as they continued to watch the pair. The person who didn't step into the lake, who looked like a tall, thin man wearing a hat, finally stood up and walked towards his companion. The two of them stood there, facing each other, probably deep in conversation. It was hard to tell from a distance. His sister was about to say something about almost spying on the couple, but their curiosity and the fact that they had caught nothing got the better of her – both of them, to be exact.

In fact, the two of them ended up giggling when the woman splashed her comrade, and he recoiled – or at least, pretended to. She splashed him a few more times before getting out of the lake, and the two of them plopped onto a grassier area not too far from the bank.

"Mom told us a story about how she and Dad spent the entire afternoon here, remember?" Wendy suddenly asked, almost making Michael jump. "I sort of thought of it when I saw those two on the other side…"

"Yeah," he answered, looking back at his line. "You know – "

"Brother! Brother! I think I've got something!"

Even Kameo perked up and squeaked, watching its owner clutch her pole tightly. Michael quickly said, "Reel it in, Wendy, quick!"

She did as she was told, and in a few seconds, a plump, wriggling trout was thrust into their basket, and all the while, the girl beamed as though she had the time of her life. Michael was proud too, and said, "Wow, that was a nice one!"

"Okay, I caught a fish. Can we go home now? If it takes that long to catch just one…"

It took quite some time before Michael could stop laughing. "All right…it's getting late, anyway. It'll be sunset pretty soon. We can always come back tomorrow. Maybe more fish will be biting then."

He squinted into the distance, and Wendy did the same, but the couple had already gone before them.

Changing the subject, she asked, "How do you know more fish are going to be biting tomorrow?"

"I said 'maybe'!" Michael started laughing again as he picked up the basket and his fishing pole, Wendy took hers and Kameo, who was once again worn like a pendant around her neck, and they headed for home.

_/end_


End file.
